AGE 20 Subjunctive and Optative - Pressbooks€¦ · The Subjunctive Mood! • The subjunctive mood primarily refers to hypothetical actions in the present or future, that is, in

Introduction to Ancient Greek Unit 20 01

Subjunctive and Optative Moods Formation

• AGE Unit 20: Subjunctive and Optative • You have already learned three moods of Greek verbs:

the indicative, infinitive, and the imperative. • The indicative mood conveys actual historical events

in the present, past or future. • The infinitive mood is used as a verbal noun, so it is

not necessary to indicate the person and number of the verb.

• The imperative mood conveys a command for someone to perform the action of the verb.

Subjunctive and Optative Introduction

• AGE Unit 20: Subjunctive and Optative • This Unit presents the last two moods: the

Subjunctive and Optative. • We begin here with how to form these moods. • In Unit 20 02, we will see how to use these

moods.

Subjunctive and Optative Introduction

Subjunctive Mood Introduction

The Subjunctive Mood • The subjunctive mood primarily refers to hypothetical

actions in the present or future, that is, in the same time covered by the primary tenses of verbs.

• The subjunctive occurs only in the present, aorist and perfect tenses. Since the subjunctive mood always refers to hypothetical events, it NEVER has an augment (which indicates historical events in the past).

Subjunctive Mood Introduction

Subjunctive Mood Formation

The Subjunctive Mood • ALL verbs in Greek use exactly the same personal

endings to mark the subjunctive mood. • As a primary mood, the subjunctive always uses

primary endings. • These primary personal endings are those of –ω verbs,

but with the thematic vowel lengthened • ο ➔ ω, ε ➔ η


• Review: The Master List of Endings • Posted in Sakai is a “Master List of Endings: Verbs,”

where you can see the overall scheme of verb endings. • On the second page you can see the single set of

endings for all subjunctive mood verbs.


Subjunctive Mood Active Voice

Building a Greek verb • Personal endings for subjunctive verbs are those of –ω

verbs, but with the thematic vowel lengthened. For the active voice, the endings are:

!• -ω ➔ -ω = I -ομεν ➔ -ωμεν = we • -εις ➔ -ῃς = you -ετε ➔ -ητε = y’all • -ει ➔ -ῃ = (s)he, it -ουσι ➔ -ωσι = they

Subjunctive Mood Active Voice

Building a Greek verb • Notice that these endings are also the present active

subjunctive of εἰμί: ! ὦ ὦμεν ᾖς ἦτε ᾖ ὦσι !

• The present subjunctive of εἰμί is not enclitic. • Note also that for each number and person, the accents and

breathing marks are identical.

Subjunctive Mood εἰμί

Subjunctive Mood Middle Voice

Building a Greek verb • Personal endings for subjunctive verbs are those of –ω

verbs, but with the thematic vowel lengthened. For the middle voice, the endings are:

!• -ομαι ➔ -ωμαι = I -ομεθα ➔ -ωμεθα = we • *-εσαι ➔ *-ησαι ➔ -ῃ = you -εσθε ➔ -ησθε = y’all • -εται ➔ -ηται = (s)he, it -ονται ➔ -ωνται = they

Subjunctive Mood Middle Voice

Subjunctive Mood Tenses

The Subjunctive Mood • As you can see, ALL verbs in the subjunctive are

essentially -ω verbs and thematic. • Recall that this also happens to all verbs in the

indicative future. • The tense of the subjunctive is indicated not by any

additional markers or endings, but only by the tense stem.

• For the subjunctive, we need only know the present, aorist and perfect tense stems.


The Subjunctive Mood • To see how to form the subjunctive in these three

tenses, let’s take a look at three examples: !• λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα • λαμβάνω, λήψομαι, ἔλαβον, εἴληφα • δείκνυμι, δείξω, ἔδειξα, δέδειχα


The Subjunctive Mood • Let’s begin with this verb: !• λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα • present tense stem: λυ- • aorist tense stem: λυσ- • perfect tense stem: λελυκ-


• λύω • λύῃς • λύῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Present, Subjunctive, Active of λύω

(GPH p. 71)

• λύωμεν • λύητε • λύωσι(ν)

• λύσω • λύσῃς • λύσῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Aorist, Subjunctive, Active of λύω

(GPH p. 79)

• λύσωμεν • λύσητε • λύσωσι(ν)

• λελύκω • λελύκῃς • λελύκῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Perfect, Subjunctive, Active of λύω

(GPH p. 92)

• λελύκωμεν • λελύκητε • λελύκωσι(ν)

• λύωμαι • λύῃ • λύηται

Subjunctive Mood The Present, Subjunctive, Middle of λύω

(GPH p. 71)

• λυώμεθα • λύησθε • λύωνται

• λύσωμαι • λύσῃ • λύσηται

Subjunctive Mood The Aorist, Subjunctive, Middle of λύω

(GPH p. 71)

• λυσώμεθα • λύσησθε • λύσωνται

The Subjunctive Mood • In the perfect tense, the forms of the subjunctive mood proved

difficult for Greeks to say. • Sometimes in the active voice, and always in the middle voice,

Greek used periphrastic forms; that is, they used the perfect participle (perfect active participle if perfect active subjunctive, and middle if perfect middle) followed by the subjunctive form of εἰμί:

• active: λελύκῃ (or λελυκὼς ᾖ) • middle: λελυμένος ᾖ (never λελυ- + -ηται)

Subjunctive Mood Periphrastic Forms

• λελυμένος ὦ • λελυμένος ᾖς • λελυμένος ᾖ

Subjunctive Mood The Perfect, Subjunctive, Middle of λύω

(GPH p. 92)

• λελυμένοι ὦμεν • λελυμένοι ἦτε • λελυμένοι ὦσι

The Subjunctive Mood • Now let’s take a look at this verb, in the active voice. !• λαμβάνω, λήψομαι, ἔλαβον, εἴληφα • present tense stem: λαμβαν- • aorist tense stem: λαβ- • perfect tense stem: εἰληφ-


• λαμβάνω • λαμβάνῃς • λαμβάνῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Present, Subjunctive, Active of

λαμβάνω

• λαμβάνωμεν • λαμβάνητε • λαμβάνωσι(ν)

• λάβω • λάβῃς • λάβῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Aorist, Subjunctive, Active of

λαμβάνω

• λάβωμεν • λάβητε • λάβωσι(ν)

• εἰλήφω • εἰλήφῃς • εἰλήφῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Perfect, Subjunctive, Active of

λαμβάνω

• εἰλήφωμεν • εἰλήφητε • εἰλήφωσι(ν)

The Subjunctive Mood • Now let’s take a look at this verb, in the active voice. !• δείκνυμι, δείξω, ἔδειξα, δέδειχα • present tense stem: δεικνυ- • aorist tense stem: δειξ- • perfect tense stem: δεδειχ-


• δεικνύω • δεικνύῃς • δεικνύῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Present, Subjunctive, Active of

δείκνυμι

• δεικνύωμεν • δεικνύητε • δεικνύωσι(ν)

• δείξω • δείξῃς • δείξῃ

Subjunctive Mood The Aorist, Subjunctive, Active of

δείκνυμι

• δείξωμεν • δείξητε • δείξωσι(ν)

• δεδείχω • δεδείχῃς • δεδείχῃ


δείκνυμι

• δεδείχωμεν • δεδείχητε • δεδείχωσι(ν)

Optative Mood Introduction

The Optative Mood • The optative mood primarily refers to hypothetical actions in

the past, that is, in the same time covered by the secondary tenses of verbs.

• As with the subjunctive, the optative occurs only in the present, aorist and perfect tenses. Since the optative mood always refers to hypothetical events, it NEVER has an augment (which indicates historical events in the past). • In very rare and specific circumstances, it is possible to create

a future tense of the optative.

Optative Mood Introduction

Optative Mood Formation

The Optative Mood • Like the subjunctive, ALL verbs in the optative mood

use the personal endings of –ω verbs. • For the active first person singular ending, however, the

optative uses -μι. • As a secondary mood, the optative uses secondary

endings.


The Optative Mood • To mark the optative mood, an -ι- is inserted between

the thematic vowel and the personal ending. • Inserting this -ι- means that the thematic vowel does

not degrade from ο to ε, as it does elsewhere. • As a result, the thematic vowel remains an ο

throughout all persons and numbers.


Optative Mood Active Voice

Building a Greek verb • As a secondary mood, the optative uses secondary

endings. • To mark the optative mood, an -ι- is inserted between

the thematic vowel and the personal ending in the active voice:

!• -ον ➔ -οιμι = I -ομεν ➔ -οιμεν = we

• -ες ➔ -οις = you -ετε ➔ -οιτε = y’all

• -ε ➔ -οι = (s)he, it -ον ➔ -οιεν = they

Optative Mood Active Voice

Building a Greek verb • In the first (weak) aorist, the -σα- marker replaces the

thematic vowel -ο- in the active voice: !• -οιμι ➔ -σαιμι = I -ομεν ➔ -σαιμεν = we

• -οις ➔ -σαις = you -οιτε ➔ -σαιτε = y’all

• -οι ➔ -σαι or -σειε = (s)he, it -οιεν ➔ -σαιεν or -σειαν = they

Optative Mood First Aorist Active Endings

Optative Mood Middle Voice

Building a Greek verb • As a secondary mood, the optative uses secondary

endings. • To mark the optative mood, an -ι- is inserted between

the thematic vowel and the personal ending in the middle voice: !

• -ομην ➔ -οιμην = I -ομεθα ➔ -οιμεθα = we • *-εσο ➔ *-οισο ➔ -οιο = you -εσθε ➔ -οισθε = y’all • -ετο ➔ -οιτο = (s)he, it -οντο ➔ -οιντο = they

Optative Mood Middle Voice

Building a Greek verb • Likewise, in the first (weak) aorist, the -σα- marker

replaces the thematic vowel -ο- in the middle voice: !• -οιμην ➔ -σαιμην = I -οιμεθα ➔ -σαιμεθα = we

• -οιο ➔ -σαιο = you -οισθε ➔ -σαισθε = y’all

• -οιτο ➔ -σαιτο = (s)he, it -οντο ➔ -σαιντο = they

Optative Mood First Aorist Middle Endings

The Optative Mood • Τhe importance of inserted -ι- as a marker of the

optative mood is also reflected in the fact that -οι and -αι at the end of optative forms are long diphthongs (not short as they are everywhere else).

• While the basic marker of optative mood is the inserted -ι-, for clarity and pronunciation Greek words sometimes expanded this marker to -ιη- (or shortened to -ιε-). This happens most notably in contract verbs and –μι verbs.


Building a Greek verb • Note, for example, that the present optative of εἰμί

generally uses -ιη- as its optative marker, and regular –μι secondary endings:

!• εἴην εἴημεν or εἶμεν • εἴης εἴητε or εἶτε • εἴη εἴησαν or εἶεν

Optative Mood εἰμί

The Optative Mood • As you can see, ALL verbs in the optative are essentially

-ω verbs and thematic. • Recall that this also happens to all verbs in the

subjunctive and in the indicative future. • The tense of the optative is indicated not by any

additional markers or endings, but by the tense stem. • For the optative, we need for now to know only the

present, aorist and perfect tense stems.

Optative Mood Tenses

The Optative Mood • To see how to form the subjunctive in these three

tenses, let’s take a look at three examples: !• λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα • λαμβάνω, λήψομαι, ἔλαβον, εἴληφα • δείκνυμι, δείξω, ἔδειξα, δέδειχα


The Optative Mood • Let’s begin with this verb: !• λύω, λύσω, ἔλυσα, λέλυκα • present tense stem: λυ- • aorist tense stem: λυσ- • perfect tense stem: λελυκ-


• λύοιμι • λύοις • λύοι

Optative Mood The Present, Subjunctive, Active of λύω

(GPH p. 72)

• λύοιμεν • λύοιτε • λύοιεν

• λύσαιμι • λύσαις • λύσαι

Subjunctive Mood The Aorist, Subjunctive, Active of λύω

(GPH p. 80)

• λύσαιμεν • λύσαιτε • λύσαιεν or λύσειαν

• λελύκοιμι • λελύκοις • λελύκοι

Subjunctive Mood The Perfect, Subjunctive, Active of λύω

(GPH p. 92)

• λελύκοιμεν • λελύκοιτε • λελύκοιεν

• λυοίμην • λύοιο • λύοιτο

Optative Mood The Present, Optative, Middle of λύω

(GPH p. 72)

• λυοίμεθα • λύοισθε • λύοιντο

• λυσαίμην • λύσαιο • λύσαιτο

Subjunctive Mood The Aorist, Subjunctive, Middle of λύω

(GPH p. 80)

• λυσαίμεθα • λύσαισθε • λύσαιντο

The Optative Mood • In the perfect tense, as with the subjunctive, the forms of

the optative mood proved difficult for Greeks to say. • Sometimes in the active voice, and always in the middle

voice, Greek used periphrastic forms; that is, they used the perfect participle (perfect active participle if perfect active optative, and middle if perfect middle) followed by the optative form of εἰμί:

• active: λελύκοι (or λελυκὼς εἴη) • middle: λελυμένος εἴη (never λελυ- + -ι- + -το)

Optative Mood Periphrastic Forms

• λελυμένος εἴην • λελυμένος εἴης • λελυμένος εἴη

Optative Mood The Perfect, Optative, Middle of λύω

(GPH p. 93)

• λελυμένοι εἴημεν • λελυμένοι εἴητε • λελυμένοι εἴησαν

The Optative Mood • Now let’s take a look at this verb, in the active voice. !• λαμβάνω, λήψομαι, ἔλαβον, εἴληφα • present tense stem: λαμβαν- • aorist tense stem: λαβ- • perfect tense stem: εἰληφ-


• λαμβάνοιμι • λαμβάνοις • λαμβάνοι

Optative Mood The Present, Optative, Active of

λαμβάνω

• λαμβάνοιμεν • λαμβάνοιτε • λαμβάνοιεν

• λάβοιμι • λάβοις • λάβοι

Optative Mood The Aorist, Optative, Active of

λαμβάνω

• λάβοιμεν • λάβοιτε • λάβοιεν

• εἰλήφοιμι • εἰλήφοις • εἰλήφοι


λαμβάνω

• εἰλήφοιμεν • εἰλήφοιτε • εἰλήφοιεν

The Subjunctive Mood • Now let’s take a look at this verb, in the active voice. !• δείκνυμι, δείξω, ἔδειξα, δέδειχα • present tense stem: δεικνυ- • aorist tense stem: δειξ- • perfect tense stem: δεδειχ-


• δεικνύοιμι • δεικνύοις • δεικνύοι

Optative Mood The Present, Optative, Active of

δείκνυμι

• δεικνύοιμεν • δεικνύοιτε • δεικνύοιεν

• δείξοιμι • δείξοις • δείξοι

Optative Mood The Aorist, Optative, Active of

δείκνυμι

• δείξοιμεν • δείξοιτε • δείξοιεν

• δεδείχοιμι • δεδείχοις • δεδείχοι

Optative Mood The Perfect, Optative, Active of

δείκνυμι

• δεδείχοιμεν • δεδείχοιτε • δεδείχοιεν

AGE 20 Subjunctive and Optative - Pressbooks€¦ · The Subjunctive Mood! • The subjunctive mood primarily refers to hypothetical actions in the present or future, that is, in

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